Lamp socket having radially expanding spring tongues to secure it in an apertured support



April 5, 1955 MURPHY 2,705,784

LAMP SOCKET HAVING RADIALLY EXPANDING SPRING TONGUES TO SECURE IT IN AN APERTURED SUPPORT Filed April 1-1.5, 1950 rlllllllllll- III! III! p IIIIIIIIII NVENTOR: HOWARD d. MURPHY,

ATTOR HEY.

United States Patent LAlVIP SOCKET HAVING RADIALLY EXPANDING SPRING TONGUES TO SECURE IT IN AN APER- TURED SUPPORT Howard J. Murphy, Lynnfield, Mass., assignor to United- Carr Fastener Corporation, Cambridge, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 13, 1950, Serial No. 155,670

3 Claims. (Cl. 339-128) The present invention relates to sockets for lamps, plugs, and the like and more particularly to sockets adapted for use with lamps having bayonet type bases such as are used in the lighting circuits of automobiles and the like and aims generally to provide an improved socket of that type and an improved method for manufacturing such sockets.

A primary object of the invention is the provision of an improved socket of simple and economical construction formed from a single blank of sheet material.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved socket for lamps having bayonet type bases of simple and economical construction having a one-piece body including integral members for snap fastener type mounting upon an apertured support.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an improved socket of the above type having integral elements formed to provide snap fastener engagement in an aperture in a support.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective side view of a preferred embodiment of the socket of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the socket of Fig. l mounted on an apertured support;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a socket taken on line 33 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a blank of sheet material from which the socket of Fig. 1 may be formed.

Referring to the drawing, the lamp socket is adapted for snap fastener engagement with a support 12 having an aperture 14. The support 12 may be a metal panel, such as the instrument panel of an automobile, and the aperture 14 may be of any suitable shape, such as round, square, rectangular or the like, but is preferably round.

The socket 10 is formed from a single piece of sheet material such as sheet metal and comprises tubular body portion 16 having inward turned flange 18 at one end of the body, a series of outwardly extending lateral flanges 20 spaced around the opposite end, and a series of snap fastener prongs 22 disposed between the lateral flanges 20 and extending generally parallel the axis of the body portion 16. The snap fastener prongs 22 may include adjacent the body portion 16 outwardly extending portions 24 for displacing the prongs 22 from the -body wall, at the opposite ends inwardly directed portions 26, and intermediate the ends outwardly sloping portions 28.

At opposite sides of the body strips 30 are displaced outwardly from the body wall to provide slots 31 for receiving and guiding the retaining pins of a bayonet based lamp of a type well known in and generally standard in the automobile industry. Adjacent the inner ends of the slots 31 formed by the displacement of the strips 30 the walls of the body 10 are apertured at 32 to provide retaining slots 33 communicating with the guiding slots 31 for retaining the bayonet type base in the shell in contact with a standard type of contact assembly which may be disposed in the body portion 16 adjacent the inturned flange 18.

The socket 10 may be mounted upon an apertured support 12 by passing the snap fastener prongs 22 into the aperture 14 so that the outwardly sloping portions 28 are snapped into engagement with the edge of the aperture 14 at one surface of the support 12 while the outwardly extending lateral flanges 20 engage the opposite surface of the support 12.

The socket 10 may be formed from a single blank 34 as shown in Fig. 4 cut from sheet material, preferably in strip form. At opposite ends of the blank there may be one or more cooperating sets of interlocking tongues 36 and slots 38 which upon forming the blank into a tube will interlock with each other to hold the ends together. On one side of the blank are cut a series of substantially equally spaced notches 40 providing segmental tongues 42 adapted to be formed into the flange 18 upon the formation of the tubular body 16. On the opposite side of the blank are cut a series of slits or preferably notches 44 as shown providing a series of tongues 46. Alternate ones of the tongues 46 may be formed to provide the outwardly extending lateral flanges 20 and the others may be formed into the snap fastener prongs 22.

Certain of the notches 44 are extended by shearing or otherwise cutting slits to provide the strips 30 and pinreceiving slots 31 of the body shell. The blank is apertured at 32 to provide the retaining slots 33 communicating with the pin-receiving slots 31.

In the formation of socket shell 10 from the blank 34, the segmental tongues 40 are bent or curled to extend substantially normal to the blank, the tongues 46 are bent to form the outwardly extending lateral flanges 20 and the snap fastener prongs 22, the strips 30 are displaced outwardly from the blank, and the blank is formed into a tube with the opposite ends placed in abutting relation with the tongues 36 disposed in interlocked engagement in the slot 38.

The operations involved in cutting the blank and forming the socket shell therefrom may be performed by methods well known in the art and in any order that is convenient. For example, the operations may be performed in a multislide machine with the sheet material being fed into the machine in strip form and with the notches 44 and 46 being cut on opposite sides of the strip, the slots 48 being sheared and strips 30 being displaced, the segmental tongues 42 and tongues 46 being formed into final shape, and then the blank 34 being cut off providing tongue 36 for one blank and the slot 38 for the adjacent blank and'then formed into finalshape.

It is to be understood that the invention is not to be restricted to the details of construction as shown and described, as the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A socket for bayonet type lamp bases and connector plugs formed from a single piece of sheet material comprising: a substantially rigid tubular body forming a receptacle for bayonet type lamp bases and connector plugs, and having two series of integral tongues extending from one end thereof, the tongues of one series extending radially outwardly for engaging one face of an apertured support to prevent passage of said body into the aperture of such support and the tongues of the other series being disposed intermediate those of the first series and providing snap fastener prongs extending axially outwardly beyond said body for engagement in the aperture of such support, and a pair of strips being cut from the material of said body at diametrically opposite sides of said body, said strips being integrally connected at one end to said body and being radially outwardly displaced to provide guide-pin receiving slots.

2. A socket for bayonet type lamp bases and connector plugs formed from a single piece of sheet material comprising: a substantially rigid tubular body forming a receptacle for bayonet type lamp bases and connector plugs, including a tongue extending from one side edge of the sheet material forming said body and having a slot on the opposite side edge, said tongue being locked in said slot, said body having two series of integral tongues extending from one end thereof, the tongues of one series extending radially outwardly for engaging one face of an apertured support to prevent passage of said body into the aperture of such support and the tongues of the other series being disposed intermediate those of the first series and providing snap fastener prongs extending axially outwardly beyond said body for engagement in the aperture of such support, and a pair of strips being cut from the material of said body at diametrically opposite sides of said body, said strips being integrally connected at one end to said body and being radially outwardly displaced to provide guide-pin receiving slots, the other end of each of said strips being integrally connected to one of said tongues.

3. A socket for bayonet type lamp bases and connector plugs formed from a single piece of sheet material comprising: a substantially rigid tubular body forming a receptacle for bayonet type lamp bases and connector plugs, including a tongue extending from one side edge of the sheet material forming said body and having a slot on the opposite side edge, said tongue being locked in said slot, said body having a plurality of integraltongues at opposite ends thereof, the integral tongues at one end providing a radially inwardly extending internal flange and the integral tongues at the opposite end including two series of tongues, the tongues of one series extending radially outwardly for engaging one face of an apertured support to prevent passage of said body into the aperture of such support and the tongues of the other series being disposed intermediate those of the first series and provid- 4 ing snap fastener prongs. extending axially outwardly beyond said body for engagement in the aperture of such support, and a pair of strips being cut from the material of said body at diametrically opposite sides of said body, said strips being integrally connected at one end to said body and being radially outwardly displaced to provide guide-pin receiving slots, the other end of each of said strips being integrally connected to one of said tongues.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,256,665 Douglas Feb. 19, 1918 1,700,538 Grant et a1. Jan. 29, 1929 1,911,610 Douglas May 30, 1933 1,987,035 Tideman Jan. 8, 1935 2,125,843 Hall Aug. 2, 1938 2,167,270 Woodward July 25, 1939 2,207,507 Douglas July 9, 1940 2,236,496 Beggs Apr. 1, 1941 2,497,456 Johnson Feb. 14, 1950 

